The presence of Jewish people in Iran dates back to approximately 2700 years ago when they were captives of the Assyrian empire.
2500 years ago Cyrus the Great, of the Achaemenid dynasty, overthrew the Babylonians and freed the Jewish people. Some returned to their promised land whilst others migrated to Persia, which in 1935 changed its name to Iran. Jewish people who remained in Persia settled on the banks of the Zayandeh Rood and established the Jewish city of Dar Elihud, which means ‘the land of the Jewish people’.
Gradually, Persians also moved into the city. The kings of Iran also recognised the strategic location of Dar Elihud as suitable for establishing military bases. It wasn’t until after the 7th-century CE Arab invasion that the name of the city was changed to today’s Isfahan.
Cyrus, the Messiah of God
In ancient times it was customary that the men, women and children of tribes defeated in wars were captured and enslaved or exiled by their conquerors. When Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians he announced all captives, including Jewish people, were free to return to their homelands.
Those who returned to rebuild Jerusalem benefited further from Cyrus’s goodwill as he paid for the construction.
The Tanakh (or Hebrew Bible) consists of the Torah (Laws), the Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). In the latter, Cyrus is described as God’s saviour. There’s a verse where he is explicitly recognised as the Messiah of God, and he is the only non-Jewish King mentioned in the Tanakh in a positive light.
The tragic cycle of hope and hate; antisemitism in Iran
One of the effects of Islamic dominance is antisemitism in which Jewish people are considered impure and are mistreated. We could see this attitude influenced by particular interpretations of Quranic verses such as Surah 3:151, 2:191, and 9:5 as well as historical events. In 1501, coinciding with the rule of the Safavid dynasty in Iran, a series of cruel laws were implemented against the Jewish people in Iran.
For example, Jewish people did not have the right to wear new clothes, nor to come out of the house during the rain lest they defile the environment. Also, they were not allowed to ride horses and were only permitted to use donkeys.
These conditions and restrictions continued until the end of the Qajar dynasty (1794-1925) when the constitutional revolution recognised the Jewish people and granted them the right to have a representative in the parliament. The socio-political atmosphere against the Jewish people was still so heavy they did not benefit from this privilege. They chose one of the Shia Ayatollahs as the representative of Jewish citizens in the parliament.
Among other historical examples of anti-Semitism is the massacre of Mashhad and the “Allah Dad” incident in 1839 where 83 Jewish people lost their lives. It happened at the instigation of Islamic scholars and ended with the Jewish community being forced to convert to Islam or lose their lives. Outwardly they adhered to Islam but their inner beliefs remained in Judaism.
According to historical sources like H. Levy’s The History of the Jews of Iran, another similar massacre took place in Tabriz which led to the destruction of a significant portion of the Jewish community, prompting the remaining members to relocate from the city.
At the end of the 19th century when the Shah of Iran, Naser al-Din Shah, was on a European mission, several French Jewish leaders met with him in Paris and asked permission to establish a school for Jewish people in Iran. Although Naser al-Din Shah agreed, it took about 20 years before the first Jewish-funded Alliance school was established in Tehran. Despite being Muslims, many nobles of the Pahlavi era were educated in Alliance schools.
With the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and Reza Shah in 1925, Jewish people were granted civil liberties. The Organisation of Iranian Jewish people was established during this period.
A Jewish sanctuary and the Schindler of Iran
During the Second World War Iran sheltered displaced European Jewish people fleeing Hitler. The Holocaust left a large number of children orphaned (Tehran children), many of whom Iran sheltered.
Abdul Hossein Sardari was Iran’s Consul General in Paris during World War II. Sardari was a diplomat who bravely saved the lives of many Jewish people and was nicknamed the Schindler of Iran.
Following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948 no fewer than 10 Arab countries deported the Jewish people and confiscated their properties. The Iranian government opened its borders to Iraq’s Jewish refugees, some of whom travelled on to Israel. In fact, New Age Iran was hospitable for Jewish people, and sheltered Jewish people in danger.
Many remained in Iran until the arrival of Ayatollah Musavi Ruhollah Khomeini and his 1979 Islamic revolution.
The antisemitism of the Tehran regime
The root of Ayatollahs’ antisemitism comes from their religion. According to the religious beliefs of these Islamic rulers, Jewish people are unclean and infidels and should be removed from society.
The Iranian regime claims to be the leader of the Islamic world. So, it looks for reasons to show itself as true Muslims. The regime taunts other rulers of Islamic countries by declaring war against the Jewish people and flaunting their interpretation of Islam. Therefore, it presents itself as supporters of the Palestinians and fully supports Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ayatollah Khomeini and later Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran) planned to take over the sovereignty under the pretext of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.
In this way, the regime’s antisemitism has become an excuse to use all its financial and weapons resources to destroy Israel.
What ideology do the people of Iran want to follow?
There have been many reports of the participation of terrorists supporting the Iranian regime in suppressing the Iranian people, and accusations in this regard have been directed at Qasem Soleimani.
The vast majority of Iranian citizens are opposed to killing Israelis, Palestinians, or any other part of the world under any pretext. Iranians have no enmity with any race, religion, or nation.
Today, the people of Iran have openly said “no” to the Islamic regime’s policy of enmity with America and Israel. They have only one enemy: the ideological regime of the Mullahs ruling Iran.
Suggested reading
Yerušalmîerušalmî, D. and Abraham, Light and shadows: The story of Iranian Jews; Fowler Museum at UCLA, October 21, 2012 – March 10, 2013.
Ḥugge Lavī (1999). Comprehensive History of the Jews of Iran. Mazda Pub (1 May 1999).
More on Iran
